Felix Nmecha faces a race against time – and it will be run without the surgeon’s knife.
Borussia Dortmund have chosen a conservative treatment for the midfielder’s lateral knee ligament injury, ruling out an operation but all but confirming a lengthy spell on the sidelines. The club expect the 25-year-old to miss several weeks, with a return pencilled in only for the final stretch of the season in May.
That timeline is loaded with consequences. It keeps alive his hope of sneaking back for Dortmund’s run-in and, crucially, puts him on course to be available for the World Cup. At least on paper.
Julian Nagelsmann is not treating that as a given.
The Germany head coach, speaking on the fringes of Monday’s 2-1 win over Ghana, underlined the uncertainty surrounding Nmecha’s tournament prospects. “There is definitely a risk that he won’t be able to play in the World Cup,” Nagelsmann warned, before stressing that even a timely return to training would not automatically solve everything.
Recovery, he pointed out, is only one hurdle. Playing without pain – or at least with manageable pain – is another. “Even then, there is still no guarantee that he will be pain-free or able to tolerate the pain. It is certainly an injury that is no walk in the park.”
For Nmecha, the setback came at the worst possible moment. He was injured in Dortmund’s 3-2 win over HSV on 21 May, only coming off in stoppage time before BVB confirmed the diagnosis of a lateral ligament injury in his knee. No exact comeback date has been set, just the vague but ominous “several weeks.”
The timing collides directly with the national team calendar. Nagelsmann will name his World Cup squad on 12 May, ahead of friendlies against Finland on 31 May and the USA on 6 June. Nmecha, if everything goes well, will only just be re-emerging from rehab when those decisions are being finalised.
That is the sporting dilemma. Because on form, there would barely be a debate.
This season Nmecha has forced his way into the core of Dortmund’s first team, his blend of physical presence and technical clarity turning him from squad option into near-essential. His rise has not gone unnoticed at national level, where he is widely viewed as a candidate to reshape Germany’s midfield for the next cycle.
Even Lothar Matthäus, never shy with an opinion and rarely extravagant with his praise, has been swept along by the trajectory. The record Germany international recently spoke glowingly about the Dortmund man, arguing that if Nmecha continues on this path and stays fit, he can become not only a central figure at BVB but also the playmaker for the national team – a role Matthäus believes Joshua Kimmich can no longer fully occupy in his new position.
That is the vision. The reality, for now, is a brace, a treatment table and an uncertain countdown.
Dortmund need their emerging midfield organiser back for the climax of the campaign. Germany, looking for a new heartbeat in the centre of the pitch, can see the potential but must weigh it against risk.
Nagelsmann’s squad list on 12 May will reveal how much of that gamble he is willing to take.
